TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 579, 29 October 1920, Page 2

TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDS SOLICITED. GRAND POPULAR CONCERT. In July last the committee of the Pukekohe School guaranteed the Education Board £IOO for the purpose of acquiring an additional acre of land. The extra land cost £3OO, the £2OO being found by the board, and the land has been acquired. Although repeated appeals have been made for subscriptions towards the liquidation of the debt, and a concert also held to raise money, up to the present time only £SO has been received in cash, while £24 has been promised. The committee is anxious to obtain £3OO-£IOO for the land, and the remaining £2OO is to be economically spent in beautifying the technical school grounds with shrubs, tennis courts, and flower-beds, while a decent entrance and paths in keeping with an up-to-date school will have to be constructed.

Speaking to the chairman of the School Committee. Mr. Frank Perkins, this morning, a "Times" reporter soon learned that a vein of disgust ran through him. Mr. Perkins has put his whole soul and energy into this matter, which is of interest- to the whole of the Franklin electorate, and in spite of his endeavours, the public have not gt'asped the necessity and of what value such a school is to a district, such as this. Education nowadays is not looked upon with the same contempt as it was in years gone by, and if parents of children are anxious that their 'offspring should have opportunities to make a name for themselves, they require the best educational facilities offering. To-day the Pukekohe and District Technical High-School is on the verge of completion, and within a very short time the school will be opened. There is not the slightest doubt that the school will prove one of the most valuable assets ever constructed in Franklin, for many reasons, one of which is that children now attending the Auckland second ary schools attend a school here instead, second t<> none in the Dominion. Incidentally, they will not have to catch a train at 7.15 in the morning and return home at ten minutes to six, sometimes later, fri the evening, making in all an exceptionally long And tiresome day; on which only a very small percentage can expect to do themselves justice and thrive. Another reason is that the school is situated in a quiet and healthy locality, well away from the bustle and the hustle of a town, another thing essential in the education of the child. The spacious playgrounds which are provided for will allow pupils attending the school any amount of scope for athletics, such" as football, cricket, hockey and tennis, etc. At the present time about threequarters of the total number of pupils on the roll at the High School come from places further afield than the Pukekohe borough. The school now in the course of erection is the first of its kind to be erected in the Auckland Province. The Education Board has been lavish with monetary grants, and now it is up to the people of Franklin to put their shoulders to the wheel, and assist in an object not only worthy of the name of the district to which they belong, but which will be a credit to the whole <>f the Dominion.

With the idea of assisting the committee to raise the necessary money, several local gentlemen, including Messrs. .las. Roulston, W. T. Jones and A. W. Oldham have arranged tc hold a grand concert in the Premier Hall on Tuesday next. November 2. An excellent, programme has been drawn up, and includes a number of Auckland's leading talent, while. tb« great Wild West Revue Company, composed of local talent, will occupy the second half of what should be ;'i great programme. Do your bit, besides buying a ticket for this grand concert.